Spire

Spire, in architecture, steeply pointed pyramidal or conical termination to a tower. In its mature Gothic development, the spire was an elongated, slender form that was a spectacular visual culmination of the building as well as a symbol of the heavenly aspirations of pious medieval men.

Spires of the Marienkirche, Lübeck, Ger.

Courtesy of the Museen für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Lubeck, Ger.

The spire originated in the 12th century as a simple, four-sided pyramidal roof, generally abrupt and stunted, capping a church tower. Its history is a development toward slimmer, higher forms and a more organic relationship with the tower below. In the attempt to coordinate harmoniously an octagonal spire with a square base, the broach spire ... (100 of 660 words)